The Hunger Games Ep: 7 (The Scores)

Taking in a deep breath, I let it all out slowly, twisting the wires of metal around in a circular pattern as my mind goes quiet, much like the room I am in right now.

"Leona! Would you stop that!"

Gazing to the side, I glare right back into Justin's face, my anger with him still fresh in my mind. How dare he Join the Careers? Just so he can get a little further, even if it means over my cold, dead body.

Not breaking the gaze, I grip the two strips of wire, the chair they came off of clenching beneath me as i do, before strumming my fingers on them, making the strange bouncing noise he is referring to.

His glare drops to the ground, and it stays there until the instructors call him back to the Training Room. As he walks by the District 4 Tributes, they wish him luck, and their comrade-ish attitude makes me feel sick to my stomach.

Glancing around the rest of the room, I can see other Tributes waiting on their turns. Waiting to show the Gamemakers just what they can do. I catch the eyes of the District 7 Tributes as they talk quietly to one another. Both offer me nods of encouragement, though I don't know if it will do any good.

Returning my gaze to the doors Justin disappeared behind, I can only wait. And, of course, hope that I think of something to do before I am called.

A few minutes go by, and the instructor walks back inside, staring at me and waiting. Nodding to her, I stand up and make my way over to the doors, flinching as they automatically open, before stepping into the Training area.

It is not normal to me, seeing the place so empty. Nobody climbing the nets or walls, no arrows or spears zipping through the air. Just silence. Thankfully the Gamemakers are there, sitting in their comfortable seats high in some sort of booth, watching me.

"Leona Zi, District 3."

They nod as I speak, watching intently as I stride over to the weapons area, picking up a mace that I have been practicing with all week, and head over to a few practice dummies.

As I reach the first one, the mace is already swinging, taking off the head of the plastic man with ease. In my head, I picture the Tributes I want dead as I move to the next. The second dummy gets smacked lower, in the chest area, leaving a large imprint where it hits as my mind swims with images of Justin and the Careers.

Glancing over at the Gamemakers, I can see that most are not as impressed as I need them to be. Grabbing a pair of lighter maces, I charge towards a handful of dummies, dealing smaller but faster blows to their arms, legs, bodies, faces, anything I can. By the time I have made it through the small army of them, the dented, cracked, and broken dummies look totally different.

The head Gamemaker stands up, nodding to me as a dismissal. I don't feel bad though. Every one of them now nods and acknowledges me as I walk away, and I can't help but smirk at them as I leave the room through another doorway. I may not get the best Training Score, but I sure as hell won't get a low one either.

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I can't help but stare across the table as the skinniest girl I have ever seen from our District scarfs down enough food, in such a short amount of time, that I feel like I am being challenged or something.

Clearing my throat to try and get her attention, I can't keep the laughter out of my voice as I point it out, "Hey Tasha, slow down would you? We don't need to get used to this much food right before the Games."

She glances up at me, a piece of meat sticking out of her mouth so that she looks almost feral, her hair going out in crazy directions and a smear of grease on her mouth. "What? I can't help it! Everything is so good here."

Getting up, I smirk a little bit. "You should've done this as your skill. The Gamemakers would have given you a twelve, no doubt." As I head over to the couches nearby, I feel a smack as some sort of food hits me in the back of the head, but I just brush it off. After all, she'll be dead soon.

Already in front of the TV, a hulking young man leans back on one of the couches, his muscles rippling beneath a very thin shirt.

"Brutus." I acknowledge him out of respect as I sit next to him, waiting on the TV to turn on.

He surprises me by leaning over closer to me. "How do you think you did?"

I shrug nonchalantly as the Television sparks to life, the symbol of the Capitol flashing across. "It was okay. I just hacked a few dummies to pieces. No biggie."

He smiles as the host appears in his strange white suit, talking excitedly about the upcoming event. Basically, every Tribute will receive a score of at least 1 and at most 12. Higher scoring Tributes are more likely to make it further in the Games, and therefore more likely to receive sponsorships from the Capitol. And that can mean life or death, even for a Career Tribute.

Tasha walks over, flopping down on the couch next to me as we watch the Tributes go by rather quickly. Argum comes out with a score of 10, Marissa a 9. Brutus nods, glowering as he waits on our scores. "Good thing you aligned with them." His smile turns to a grin as both myself and Tasha appear with the number 10 under both of our faces.

Tasha is beside herself, shouting incomprehensible phrases as she jumps up and down. Despite her childish attitude, I join her, until a quick hiss from Brutus puts us both back on our butts and facing the screen in shock. Both District 3 kids came out with scores of 8 and 9, the higher score going to Justin's partner.

"Dammit." Brutus looks at the screen, almost appalled. "You guys picked the right District, but the wrong ally."

Next up, Logan and Ariana both come out with scores of 8, which under normal circumstances would be good, but the District 3 Girl has shaken us with her score.

"How did that little runt-" Tasha shakes her head, stopping my phrase as we watch the next few fly by. The boy from 5 manages another 8, making us cringe as yet another person gets a higher score. Both from District 7 wind up getting a 7, which Brutus finds immensely amusing. Thankfully, everyone else gets low to mid scores, the lowest being 3s which go to the two twelve year-olds and the District 12 Girl. The shock of having so many well-scoring tributes has now dulled down as we see the rest of them are incompetent.

I whistle as the District 12 girl's face disappears. "That had to hurt."

Tasha giggles, nudging me, "Shut up, Adam. She probably didn't do anything really, all she does is whine and act like she's dead already."

I nod, but in my head I know something doesn't add up with her. I will be keeping my eyes out, that's for sure. Glancing over at Brutus, he looks much happier after seeing how few good scores the Tributes received.

"Better now?" I ask him.

He nods, the light shining off his bald head as he grins at the two of us. "Better now."

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END OF THE EPISODE

First of all: I AM SO SORRY FOR FORGETTING THIS LAST NIGHT BUT I COULD NOT FIND THE SHEET OF PAPER WITH ALL YOUR CHARACTER'S NAMES ON IT WHOOPS!!! Anyway, I will have the next chapter up either tonight or tomorrow night, if studying will allow me the time... UGH :P Sorry it is so short too, I actually wrote it twice. The first time it was much longer, but it didn't save... I hate my life LMAO

Questions:
Leona getting a better score than Justin was a key point in this ep. Do you think her scoring will make her a huge target of the Careers during the Bloodbath?
Do you think Adam's doubts about Alexia's scores are misplaced?
Why do you suppose Frost did not better than Kalen in her score?
After this ep, who do you think stands the best chance at winning the Games?

Comments

Leona getting a better score than Justin was a key point in this ep. Do you think her scoring will make her a huge target of the Careers during the Bloodbath?
Possibly, but I don't see her dying to them so easily. In fact I expect her to take one of them out before fleeing.
Do you think Adam's doubts about Alexia's scores are misplaced?
Don't hate me here but I am honestly getting confused by names and not entirely sure who that is. XD
Why do you suppose Frost did not better than Kalen in her score?
Probably to make herself appear weaker than the truth. While this may mean less sponsors, having tributes underestimate you is an amazing advantage to have.
After this ep, who do you think stands the best chance at winning the Games?
Can't say really. It's way too early to decide who the winner. However chances are that anyone with a score of 8 or above has a good shot.

1. Leona getting a score may make her a target for the careers but I think she’ll be smart enough to avoid the bloodbath. I can see her grabbing a smaller weapon and then running.
2. I have to admit Alexia hasn’t stuck out in my head one way or another but I assume Adams skepticism is warranted. I’d like to see more from Alexia and what surprises she has in store.
3. I believe Frost is playing down her abilities to not be targeted in the bloodbath. This way she can secure better initial items and have more room to maneuver in the games. I really really REALLY hope she’s the focus of the interview section!
4. I am having trouble remembering everyone’s names. Out of the people who I am following so far, Brutus, Logan or Justin seem to have good winning odds. It’s still too early to say though.

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